LAHORE: Former bureaucrat Nasir Khosa announced on Thursday he was withdrawing his name for the position of caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

His announcement came a day after PTI reversed its decision to appoint Khosa as the caretaker CM in the interim setup.

He was named as a consensus candidate following consultation  between Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PTI's opposition leader Mahmood ur Rashid.

Khosa told Geo News he has decided not to assume charge as the caretaker chief minister in light of the recent controversy surrounding his candidature.

“I was made controversial in the media [after withdrawal of support] for my candidature for Punjab CM. Given the current situation, I have decided not to take charge as the chief minister,” he said.

He labeled the propaganda against him as “baseless” and regretted that it would have been better if he had been consulted before his name was first put forward for the position.

PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry told Geo News that Khosa's name was withdrawn because public opinion was not in favour of the candidate.